What is trans fat and why are trans fats bad?

by Elizabeth
(Healthy Eating Made Easy)

18 Jan 2010 UK doctors are demanding a ban on trans fats. In this Guardian audio interview Dr Alan Maryon-Davis, President of the Faculty of Public Health explains what trans fats are and why trans fats are so bad for health.

Trans fats are the chemically altered hydrogenated vegetable oils which manufacturers use to add bulk to processed foods and make them last longer. They have no nutritional value, but what they do do is raise cholesterol levels and with them the risk of heart attack.

Some countries and regions - Denmark, California, Switzerland, Austria, New York - already ban trans fats, and the Faculty of Public Health wants a similar ban in the UK. The British Heart Foundation called for better labelling, so that consumers can see how much trans fat they're buying. At the moment, food manufacturers don't have to disclose trans fat content on the label.

If you want to avoid these deadly fats, look for own-brand products from Sainsbury's, Tesco, Iceland and other members of the British Retail Consortium, who have fulfilled their 2006 pledge to remove trans fats from their own-label merchandise.